Removable pneumatic marker with underground anchoring

ABSTRACT

A description is given of a bollard designed specifically for signalling in places through which, road traffic passes, both in cities, towns and villages and on roads and motorways. The bollard comprises two separate elements, of which one provides lower anchorage to the ground, and is stiff, and the other is the section of the bollard itself, and is elastic, flexible and capable of being fitted to the lower element by means of a bayonet configuration. In the rapid recovery version, the upper flexible element incorporates an inflatable pneumatic ball inside. The whole bollard has a lid that can be fitted to the lower anchoring element when the upper one has been removed, this lid being shaped to remain flush, coupled, to the surface of the ground.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention refers to a removable pneumatic bollard for signallingwith hidden, anchorage, which offers new essential characteristics andnotable advantages over known and used methods with the same aims in thecurrent state of the art.

Specifically, the invention proposes the development of a dual sectionbollard for signalling, composed of a lower anchoring section on theground and an upper section for the signalling itself, the former beingstiff and the latter elastic, flexible, capable of recovering due to theaction of a pneumatic ball enclosed in its interior, a liberal unionexisting between both sections, assured by way of a secure closure, withthe lower or anchorage section having external elements or fixing clawsin the place of installation.

The field of application of the invention includes the industrial sectordedicated to the production and/or installation of elements andmechanisms for warning and/or signalling in public waterways or similarplaces.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The existence and wide use of signalling mechanisms, both in publicthoroughfares and other places in which it is necessary to signal orlimit access, is well-known. These mechanisms, used for many years, aregenerally known as bollards.

In practice, the most usual use has always been related to the controlof traffic, in cities, towns and villages and on roads, whether to stoppeople entering prohibited areas or to mark lanes reserved for certainspecific uses, or for other signalling functions. Evidently, thesemechanisms have always been methods with great practical usefulness forthe desired aims. However, they have been associated with certaindisadvantages that have reduced their performance and versatility. Thus,from the first bollards which consisted of stiff bodies, anchored firmlyin the ground, which on more than one occasion, were even involved inaccidents, they have developed, where circumstances permit, into plasticbollards supported simply on the ground or anchored in another way inthe places chosen, which has resolved some of the problems associatedwith the previous stiff bollards, but it is also true that the scrapesand knocks that they sometimes receive from passing vehicles push themor displace them, leaving them in positions that can constitute a realrisk for road traffic, especially for the users of two-wheel vehicles.

There exists, then, a need for a signalling bollard that by remaining inthe chosen place does not constitute any risk for vehicles of any typethat pass it.

Taking into account the needs of the current state of the art, thisinvention proposes as a principal objective the development of a bollardthat offers effective solutions to the aforementioned problems.Therefore, the invention proposes the construction of a signallingbollard that allows for anchoring in the chosen place, but in such a waythat the bollard section that projects from ground level has a naturalelasticity, is flexible, in such a way that in the event of being hit bya vehicle, it does not present any risk to the vehicle, especially whenthe vehicle is a two-wheel vehicle, with the special characteristic thatthe bollard can recover itself after being pushed or crushed due tobeing hit.

Another special characteristic of the bollard proposed by the inventionis the fact that the body that forms the flexible section of the bollardcan be removed from the anchoring section.

In order to provide a bollard with the desired characteristics andeffects that have been mentioned, this invention proposes theconstruction of a bollard composed of two independent and separateelements, which can be fitted together, of which one element is theelement that is anchored to the ground, and the other element is thatwhich constitutes the body of the bollard itself.

The first element, or anchorage, consists of a tubular, cylindricalbody, made from metal, fitted with external fixing supports indiametrically opposed positions, opened at the upper base to receive andhouse the upper section of the bollard, and both provided with slots, indiametrically opposed positions, which run from the upper edge of thetubular element, to provide a slot with a predetermined path, forming abayonet type harnessing system. This harnessing system, althoughpreferred, is used for purposes of illustration only, and can bereplaced in time by any other system that gives a holding effect similarto that described.

The second element, which is, as has been mentioned, the upper sectionof the bollard itself, is generally also cylindrical, and is made fromflexible, elastic material. It is hallow, and has a diameter that allowsit to be introduced, by its lower end, into the anchorage section, asthis body of the bollard, contains, in its lower part, a tubular andcylindrical bayonet fitting, made from metal, which stiffens a lowersegment of the body of the bollard as an extension of the anchoringelement close to the segment that has to be introduced into theanchoring element, and from which both nubs project radially indiametrically opposed positions, shaped and adapted to be housed andmoved inside the slots of the anchoring element, and thus complete thebayonet type harnessing system. The body of the bollard contains aninflatable ball which, together with the elastic nature of the material,allows the body of the bollard to recover rapidly in order to remainupright at all times, after having been hit by any vehicle. The piececan include, furthermore, a secure closure system that firmly links bothelements together.

As will be shown, with a pneumatic bollard system such as that proposedby the invention, the disadvantages associated with current bollards arerectified, risks derived from the fact that bollard can be hit by avehicle, above all the risk of fall associated with two-wheel vehicles,are eliminated, and furthermore an additional characteristic is offeredin that the body of the bollard can easily be removed where necessary,and even replaced in time with another of similar characteristics, alleasily, simply and within a short period of time.

A general description has been given above of the preferred embodimentof this invention, in which the body that forms the upper section of thebollard contains a pneumatic, inflated ball that gives effectiveassistance in the recovery process when this body is required to flexdue to having been hit by any vehicle of road traffic circulating in theplace in which it is installed. However, other circumstances exist inwhich it is not necessary for the aforementioned elastic, flexible bodyof the bollard to recover so quickly, for example in the case ofbollards installed on roads and motorways. In this case, the inventionenvisages, as an alternative to the embodiment described above, the useof an upper element of the bollard that does not contain a pneumaticball, so that the recovery of the body is achieved solely by the naturalelasticity of the material.

As an additional element, the whole of the bollard also includes a lid,intended to be used in the event that the upper section of the bollardhas to be extracted and removed from the lower element for any reason.The lid consists of a cylindrical fitting, closed from above by means ofa base made in the form of a cap, and fitted with anchoring nubs thatallow it to be fixed to the lower element of the bollard also with abayonet system. The fitting of a lid with, these characteristics to thelower element of the bollard allows the upper open base of the elementto be closed effectively, and leaves this element advantageously flushto the surface of the ground.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other characteristics and advantages of the invention areshown more clearly in the detailed description that follows of thepreferred embodiment, given only for illustrative and not limitingpurposes, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which;

FIG. 1 shows a schematic elevated view of the bollard made in accordancewith the principles of this invention;

FIG. 2 is also a schematic representation, of the same version of thebollard, but without the internal pneumatic ball, and

FIG. 3, finally, shows a schematic representation, in perspective, of alid piece included in the bollard of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As indicated above, the detailed description of the preferred embodimentof the subject of the invention will be given below with the aid of theappended drawings, in which FIG. 1 indicates the different parts thatform it by way of numbered references. Therefore, from thisrepresentation, as has been stated, an elevated view of the fullrepresentation of the bollard proposed by the invention can be seen, inwhich an anchoring element can be seen, consisting of a tubularcylindrical body (6), made from stiff metal, and an upper element orbody of the bollard (1), made from flexible elastic, such as rubber, gumor any other suitable elastomer.

The lower body (6) is equipped with fixing supports (9), which extendupwards from diametrically opposed positions, passing very close to theexternal surface of the tubular body (6). The aforementioned supportshave been designed specifically to maintain the anchored body in theposition chosen for it, such as on the ground, to which effect it hasbeen equipped with undulations that allow the anchorage to be achievedunder pressure. As has been stated, the tubular body (6) also has a pairof slots (3) in diametrically opposed positions on the wall of the body,which follow an uneven course, and which are intended to serve as a basefor the production of a bayonet type harnessing system.

For its part, the body of the bollard (1) has a hollow interior, is openin all cases at the lower base, and has an outside diameterapproximately the same as the interior diameter of the anchoring element(1), into which it must be inserted. For insertion, the bollard elementhas a metallic tubular cylindrical fitting (8), housed in its interior,extended upwards to a section approximately equivalent to that whichremains in the inside of the anchorage body (6) when both elements arefitted together. This tubular fitting (8) has a stiffening effect on thelower portion of the body (1), and from this project a pair of nubs (5),extending radially from diametrically opposed positions, shaped to allowthem to be housed in the slots (3), and this creates, together withthese, the desired bayonet system. The bollard also incorporates secureclosure (4) which keeps both elements fitted together, its removal beingnecessary in the event that the body of the bollard (1) needs to beseparated from the anchorage body (6).

As mentioned previously, the body of the bollard (1) contains apneumatic ball capable of being inflated with air to serve as apneumatic pump for the rapid recovery of the body (1) in the event thatit is hit by a vehicle. The pneumatic ball is shown by reference number2, and is divided into two sections by spring washers (7) situated at anintermediary position inside the stiffening fitting (8). In this way,the lower section (10) of the pneumatic ball is held by its own fitting,which makes the upper part (2) of the ball recover faster due to the“lever” effect generated when the upper flexible elastic part of thebollard (1) undergoes a reflex action after being hit by a vehicle.

As can be seen, a flexible elastic bollard (1), designed and produced inthe way that has just been described, with a very fast recovery actiondue to the action of a pneumatic pump provided by the interior ball (2),is especially recommended for use in signalling projects inside cities,towns and villages, in which road traffic is heavy and where they mayoften be hit by passing vehicles.

However, for those cases in which the bollard is at less risk of beinghit by road traffic, it is not necessary, as stated above, that thatrecovery action of the bollard is so rapid. In this case, theconstruction can be simplified, so that the internal pneumatic ball canbe eliminated. This situation is shown in FIG. 2, which shows anelevated side view of a bollard equivalent in all aspects to that whichappears in FIG. 1, except for the fact that it does not have a pneumaticball inside. In the alternative embodiment that is shown in FIG. 2, theupper body (1) of the bollard ends at its lower end in a taper section(11), and in its most distal part it has an axial opening (12) whichforms the entrance or exit for air. This opening is shaped in such a waythat it allows for the upper flexible elastic potion of the bollard (1)to bend when it is hit by a vehicle, with the resulting expulsion of airthrough the opening (12), while, when the bending action that this uppersection of the bollard has undergone has stopped, this opening (12)allows the re-entry of air into the body (1), due to which the latterrecovers at a speed determined by its elasticity and by the quantity ofair that can enter through the opening, until it returns to its initialconfiguration.

Finally, FIG. 3 shows a schematised view, in perspective, of the wholelid included in the bollard of the invention. As can be seen, this lidis made up of a tubular cylindrical body (13), with the same diameter asthe body of the upper section of the bollard (1), so that it can befitted to the lower element of the bollard (6) when the upper part isremoved, in order to lock it by its upper base. To this effect, the lidhas nubs (14) projecting radially towards the inside from diametricallyopposed, positions, shaped and configured to be housed in the bayonetslot (3) of the lower anchorage element, and to remain in this position.For the upper part, the body of the lid (13) is completed by a cap (15),with dimensions slightly greater than the diameter of the body, thusassuring complete closure in a position flush to the surface of theground, and assuring that the lower anchoring element (6) remainsprotected against the entry of foreign objects, such as water, leaves,paper, or dirt in general.

It is not considered necessary to extend the content of this descriptionfor an expert in the subject to be able to understand its reach and theadvantages derived from the invention, as well as the development andproduction of the subject of the invention.

However, it must be understood that the invention has been describedaccording to the preferred embodiment of the design, which means that itcould be liable to modifications without altering any of the fundamentalelements of the invention, these modifications possibly affecting, inparticular, the shape, size and/or production materials of the wholebollard of its parts.

1. Removable pneumatic bollard for signalling with hidden anchorage,specifically a bollard conceived and designed for signalling in placeswith flows of road traffic, whether inside cities, towns and villages oran roads or motorways, unique because it has two separate, independentelements (1,6), which can be fitted to and removed from each other, andwhich is anchored to the ground by a lower positioning element (6), andconsists of a generally cylindrical body, with hollow interior, open atthe upper base, equipped with claws or supports (9) which fix it to theground and which project from the body (6) in diametrically opposedpositions, running upwards in parallel with the latter, the body (6)having a pair of openings that begin at the edge of the perimeter of theupper base, in diametrically opposed positions, and follow apredetermined course to create a bayonet type harness, while the otherelement (1), with an upper position, is the bollard element itself, andconsists of a generally prism-shaped, flexible body, made from elasticmaterial, which incorporates an interior fitting (8) of a heightapproximately equivalent to that of the lower anchoring element (6), andfrom which two diametrically opposed nubs project radially, shaped andconfigured to be housed inside the slots (3) of the lower element and tocomplement the bayonet harnessing system, the upper body also having apneumatic inflatable ball (2), for the rapid recovery of the uppersection (1) in the event that it is bent due to an accident, to whicheffect the pneumatic ball has a lower section (12) housed in theinternal metallic fitting (8) of the upper element (1) of the bollard.2. Bollard according to claim 1, unique because in a version with lessrapid recovery, the upper elastic and flexible body (1) of the bollardis not equipped with any internal ball, and has at its lower end an endsection (11) that is configured to be flush, with a terminal axialopening (12) which allows air to pass in both directions, entry andexit.
 3. Bollard according to claims 1 and 2, unique because it also hasa lid element for locking the upper base of the lower anchoring element(6) in the place of the upper section (1) this lid being composed of abody (13) of a generally cylindrical shape, equipped with radial nubs(14), diametrically opposed, capable of being fitted together by way ofthe bayonet system in the openings (3) of the lower anchoring element(6), the lid element being completed at its upper base by a cap (15)with a diameter slightly greater than the body, which sits flush withthe surface of the ground as a lid fitted to the lower anchoringelement.
 4. Ballard according to claims 1 to 4, unique because it alsoincludes secure closure (4) which keeps both elements (1, 6) fittedtogether as an operational bollard.